Posts tagged ‘pizza stone’

Spinach is actually really good. Artichokes will not make you choke to death in disgust.

See, child self, the trick to making these seemingly icky and impossibly horrible vegetables actually super delicious is to hide them inside a creamy cheesy blanket called “Spinach Artichoke Dip” and then eat it on lots of carby things like crackers and chips.

Now, child self, if you really want to disguise your veggies, take those precise ingredients and turn them into…. PIZZA.

This is a super easy, quick, versatile recipe – perfect for a week night supper.

If you feel fancy you can make your own dough. I have been advised by my husband to not try this at home. Again. (However, I have had other successful attempts at disguising veggies as pizza).

Luckily my supermarket sells pizza dough from a local bakery which is rad. So while my oven was preheating to a very hot 500 degrees F, I just stretched that baby out like I was born to do it.

Actually I didn’t stretch it out thin enough (Make it work…)

I also cooked a little garlic in some oil and tossed in some chopped baby spinach. Squeezed a little lemon in to the mixture, too.

The pizza gets topped with the spinach and oil mixture, then sprinkled with mozzarella (fresh mozz would be nice, but I just had shredded on hand), artichoke hearts, and then, for the finishing touch, tuck some little nuggets of goat cheese in there.

The trick is transferring this baby into the hot oven. I don’t have a proper pizza stone – just a few small tiles that I put together. When I slid the pizza as quickly as I could onto the stones, of course they separated a bit and then my oven started smoking like crazy and I thought all might be lost.

But, it was a make it work moment and it turned out just fine! The key is making sure the bottom of your crust is VERY floured (or cornmeal works great too) and that you have the pizza on a nice thin, flat, slide-able surface to get it in the oven.

So, grown-up me to child me. Eat your veggies. (Just disguise them first with cheese and bread and oil.)

1 lb pizza dough, split into two balls (room temp)
1/4 cup oil
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
big handful of baby spinach, chopped small
half a small lemon’s juice (this is a precise technical term, yes)
about a cup of mozzarella cheese, fresh or shredded (more or less to your taste)
about 4 oz goat cheese (I used garlic soft goat cheese, but you could also try feta for a different spin)
14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped roughly
pepper and salt to taste
dried basil for garnish

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees F. If that scares you, 450 will work too, but the hotter you can go, the crispier the crust! If you are using a pizza stone, let it preheat with the oven. Otherwise you can use a flat baking sheet.

While the oven preheats, heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the garlic gently (i.e. don’t burn it. this can happen very quickly). Remove the pan from heat (or turn down very low) and toss in the spinach to wilt.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add some salt and pepper to taste and lemon juice. Stir it up.

On a well-floured cutting board or baking sheet, stretch one of your pizza dough balls to about 12 inches, trying to keep it to a pretty even thickness. Don’t worry too much about the roundness – it will still taste the same, I promise! This is a bit easier if the dough is room temp vs. straight out of the fridge.

Brush/spread half the oil and spinach mixture on the dough. Top with half the cheese, artichoke, and goat cheese. Sprinkle lightly with dried basil.

When the oven is heated fully, quickly open the door and slide the pizza with a large spatula (or two if you have a helper to hold the pan) onto the pizza stone. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until crust is golden and hollow sounding when tapped. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. Repeat with other half of ingredients.